It was a soul crushing feeling. I had worked so hard, developed so much original thought, rallied my team around a compelling vision and it was blatantly evident that the success we wanted wasn’t going to happen. As I sat with my head in my hands I couldn’t figure out if I wanted to cry, pray, or go to the bar…
The ability for a group of people to do remarkable things hinges on how well those people can pull together as a team and that’s the leaders responsibility.
People follow the example you set through your behavior – not your words.
Demonstrate high standards – don’t preach them…
At some point in our careers, we’re all guilty of settling for a bad boss. Deep down, we knew we weren’t growing or moving forward because of this person, but why did we stay? Or rather, why didn’t we leave sooner?
It was evident from our conversation that we both wholeheartedly agreed. Entry level positions within most organizations are not valued by their leaders. My colleague overheard our conversation and spoke up about the turnover problems he was experiencing within the entry level positions on his team as well. The logical questions were simple:
We are constantly judging what people do, say, or even what they wear – even if we don’t verbalize our thoughts.
The same is true in judging someone’s ability to lead. No one wants to follow someone blindly. They go through a mental process, whether they know it or not, to pass judgement on whether they want to follow or continue to follow someone.
The same is true in corporate learning. It isn’t just about being great at one thing – like learner enrollment or test scores. It’s about being a well-rounded department that focuses on employee growth, powerful development programs, and innovative thinking. It’s hitting singles and doing the small things that add up to be great.
“If Sunbeam can’t be fixed in a year, it can’t be fixed,” said Al “The Chainsaw” Dunlap as he entered the board room. At the time, Dunlap had a reputation for turning businesses around that were performing poorly. Previously, he had helped increase earnings and stock prices at Scott Paper by cutting a third of the workforce and closing plants.
This time it was different…
We’ve all done it. You set the alarm for 6:00 AM with grand aspirations to get up and workout like a Navy Seal before eating a healthy breakfast and cracking on with your day.
Then the alarm goes off, it’s dark and cold outside, you’re tired – and those good intentions simply evaporate.
It didn’t take long to figure out I didn’t want to follow this guy. From the outside he looked like the posterboy for leadership. He
